Anton Valk CBE. is a graduate of Delft University in Metallurgical Engineering. He went on to work in senior roles in Phillips Electronics and Dutch Telecom. In 1998 he was appointed as Nederlandse Spoorswegen’s Head of Rolling Stock Maintenance Company, serving until 2000 in this capacity. From 2000 to 2001 he set-up NS International and was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Abellio, 2001, staying in this role until 2011.